Microsoft Patches, Lenovo Targets Consumers, Hitachi Gets Bigger

Microsoft Corp.'s latest service pack for Office 2003 renders files from older versions of the productivity suite inaccessible, according new a recently released support document. Elsewhere, Lenovo Group Ltd. is launching a new line of consumer-focused notebooks and desktops, while Hitachi Ltd. has increased the storage size of its notebook hard drive line.

Focal Points:

• Office 2003 Service Pack 3, originally released in September 2007, blocks access to older versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, as well as IBM Corp.'s Lotus Notes and Corel Corp.'s Draw and Quattro. The company claims that access to these older files was discontinued due to the less secure nature of the older formats. The company has made a workaround available for those that have applied the service pack, which requires manual editing of the Windows Registry to restore older file access. The service pack does not natively support the newer XML-based file formats used by Office 2007; users must install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for  Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats converter for that functionality.
• Lenovo has offered consumer-oriented PCs in the geographies in which it competes since launching its bid as a worldwide offering, but now wishes to leverage its strength with the ThinkPad brand with a new set of product lines. The desktop line is called IdeaCenter and IdeaPad, based off the company's desire to be known as the PC brand of "ideas" and engineering excellence. Details of the new IdeaPad brand have emerged, and the first offerings will come in 11-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch widescreen models. Design will be unique with digital camera integration that features face-recognition software which can be used instead of a password, high-end sound systems with subwoofers, and linen-covered and metallic outer covers. Pricing is expected to be competitive – but not undercut – the competition, and Lenovo hopes that the ThinkPad's halo effect will help sales. IdeaPads will be available from numerous online sources, but no brick-and-mortar shops have yet been announced.
• Hitachi is releasing new 2.5 inch hard drives available in 400 gigabyte (GB) and 500 GB sizes starting in February. The new drives will be somewhat larger in size at 12.5 millimeters thick rather than the standard 9.5 mm size, and available at $349 and $399, respectively. The company was able to attain these larger densities by adding a third platter to the drives, and new vibration sensors will help keep the read/write head properly on track. The company also quashed rumors that circulated in late December around its desire to abandon its hard drive business, stating unequivocally that it wishes to remain in the space for the foreseeable future.

Experton Group believes Microsoft caused a bit of ire for enterprises and consumers alike by eliminating support for older file formats in its latest Office 2003 service pack release without properly detailing this fact at the outset of the patches' introduction. Nonetheless, corporations should be shutting down ongoing access to these older file formats as they standardize on newer formats and cut off their inherent security risks. Archival files can remain in these older formats as numerous third-party solutions can and will still be able to read them for some time to come. Otherwise, IT executives should batch conversion tools to bring frequently-used files up to newer, more secure standards.

Fresh off its failed bid to acquire Gateway Inc., Lenovo is looking for ways to bolster its position as the third-place manufacturer of PCs worldwide by introducing solutions seen as having competitive advantage. Lenovo has real engineering talent, and the brand has gained traction in most of the geographies in which it competes. The U.S. remains the biggest challenge for the company, where it has not performed as well as it would have liked and growth has been largely stagnant. The lack of storefront sales channels must be addressed by Lenovo as consumers have been increasingly opting to "try before they buy" and make purchases in person. The new brand extension can potentially help Lenovo, but the company has an uphill battle in front of it. IT executives can count on Lenovo to reinvigorate its attention to engineering in future years, though little on that front has tangibly been seen since its takeover of the IBM manufacturing business.

Hitachi's gains in hard drive storage are admirable, but notebooks are still not ideal places for processing of storage-intensive processes or long-term archival. Moreover, 2008 will be the year when solid-state storage devices (SSD) really start to gain traction in the mainstream – Experton Group predicts that 20 percent or more of notebooks will feature SSD. IT executives should pilot, and over the next three to four years, move all their notebooks over to SSD given its better abilities to endure the rigors of notebook users.